Victoria Azarenka Surprises Everyone With Pregnancy Announcement, Is She Done With Professional Tennis?
In a surprising turn of events for tennis pro Victoria Azarenka, she is about to become a mother for the first time. She has just announced that she is pregnant with her first child. Even though she will miss the rest of the season, she is not done with tennis just yet, as her goal is to eventually make a comeback to the sport after her pregnancy.
The announcement was made by Azarenka, via Twitter on Friday. She let everyone know that she had some news to share. She then let the cat out of the bag that she is expecting a baby with her boyfriend, which may have surprised just about everyone that read her statement on social media. She is due later this year.
Victoria had been recovering from an injury to her right knee that she sustained in the first round at the French Open in May, which also kept her out of playing at Wimbledon. Apparently, her doctor told her that she was pregnant while she was recovering.
“While recovering from the knee injury that I sustained at Roland Garros, I received news from my doctor that my boyfriend and I are going to become parents at the end of this year. We couldn’t be happier and feel very blessed to begin this exciting journey of building a family together.”
The 26-year-old Belarusian went on to say that despite the fact that she will be a mother to this little one, she is looking ahead to her future in tennis. Victoria is planning on coming back to professional tennis after she has her baby. She is thrilled at the prospect of becoming a parent, even though she will have to take some time off from the sport that she loves so much.
“I have been truly inspired by so many strong female athletes who return to the very top of their sport after having children, and I plan to do exactly that. There is nothing more special than becoming a parent, and I’m blessed to have so many examples of women, in every walk of life, who have pursued careers they love while raising children.”
Victoria Azarenka is probably referring to a couple of well-known female tennis players who became moms and then returned to the court soon after. One year after having her first child, Kim Clijsters came back and eventually moved her ranking to No. 1 in 2009. Lindsay Davenport is another tennis pro who had no problem returning to play professionally after becoming a parent.
Victoria Azarenka has received many congratulatory messages from some of her fellow tennis buds. Former world No. 1 Chris Evert sent out a post congratulating the mom-to-be on the exciting news.
“Congrats to @vika7 on becoming a mother at the end of the year! So happy for you, greatest gift ever!”
Congrats to @vika7 on becoming a mother at the end of the year! So happy for you, greatest gift ever!
— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) July 15, 2016
Caroline Wozniaki also posted that she thinks Victoria Azarenka will make a great mom. As noted by ESPN, other tennis pros have been posting their messages to the expectant mom as well.
Hola #madrid ????? pic.twitter.com/0D9yFnRlJy
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) April 29, 2016
Women’s tennis seems to be taking a bit of a hit lately with Maria Sharapova being suspended for two years because of failing her drug test, and now Azarenka is out for a while. Of course, the sport still has Serena Williams, who is still winning at the age of 34, as well as strong players such as Angelique Kerber and Madison Keys. Hopefully, Victoria Azarenka will be back and better than ever after she has this little boy or girl.
Congratulations to the soon-to-be parents who may just have a future tennis pro on their hands.
[Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images]
